About the Session:
Closing Ceremony
In the final session of the 2020 GCNForum Virtual Conference, organizers and participants provide a formal reading of the Communique and a closing address to participants.
Closing Ceremony
The Speakers:
- Arlene Mitchell, Executive Director, Global Child Nutrition Foundation
- Ryan Kennedy, Program Officer, Global Child Nutrition Foundation
- Nadia Goodman, Communique Facilitator, Global Child Nutrition Foundation
- Daniel Balaban, Director and Representative of the World Food Programme, Center of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil; Member of the GCNF Board of Directors
About The Speakers
Arlene Mitchell
Executive Director
Global Child Nutrition Foundation
Arlene Mitchell is the Executive Director of the Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF), working with partners to ensure that schoolchildren around the world have nutritious, locally-sourced meals. Among her many activities, Arlene leads GCNF’s Global Survey of School Meal Programs©. Arlene worked in the Agricultural Development program at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (2008-2013) and in the United Nations World Food Programme (1997-2007). She led WFP’s school feeding program from 2000 to 2005. Arlene also worked for U.S. Department of agriculture, as a volunteer and as a staff member of the U.S. Peace Corps, ran a restaurant, and managed a small snack machine company. She is a graduate of Michigan State University
Ryan Kennedy
Program Officer
Global Child Nutrition Foundation
Ryan Kennedy has worked for GCNF since March 2019. Ryan is focused on managing and developing GCNF’s programs and event management including GCNF’s annual Global Child Nutrition Forum, the annual Spring Seminar, regional Learning Exchanges, private sector engagement, and supporting GCNF’s programmatic contract work as needed. Additionally, he supports data and information management for GCNF’s Global Survey of School Meal Programs and research on specific topics critical to school meal programs. Prior to GCNF, Ryan served in the Peace Corps in Burkina Faso as an education volunteer with a focus on Math & Science and rural food security and later directed the department for Volunteer Engagement at Mary’s Place, the largest provider of social services to families in the Seattle area. Ryan is from Seattle, WA and received his Bachelor’s degree in Economics with a focus on Pre-Medical studies.
Daniel Balaban
Director and Representative of the World Food Programme
Center of Excellence Against Hunger in Brazil
Mr. Daniel Balaban is Economist, MBA in Finance, Specialist in Public Budget and Master in International Relations. Since August 2011 he is the Director and Representative of the World Food Program Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil. He acted over ten years in the areas of finance and planning in business consulting firms and foundations of welfare facilities. In 1994 he became Finance Analyst of the Brazil’s Ministry of Finance, having served as Economic Adviser to the Secretary of the Treasury and National Coordinator for Economic Studies of the Secretariat of National Treasury. In 2003 he served as Special Adviser to the Secretary of the Economic and Social Development of the Brazil’s Presidency of the Republic. From March 2006 to August 2011 he was President of the Brazilian National Education Development Fund, responsible, among other actions, for the National School Feeding Program, that feeds more than 47 million students around the Country. He acted in the creation of the Brazilian School Feeding Law that determines that at least 30% of the food purchased must come from the small family farming production. He chairs the school feeding network for Latin America. He is a Board Member of the Global Child Nutrition Foundation. He is also member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Councils. Mr. Balaban has been instrumental in supporting south-south cooperation and partnership in collaboration with the World Food Programme and the Food and Agricultural Organisation to bring support to national Governments, including several countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia.